A New Hero

by Alex The Lone Wolf

Hurricane Fluttershy

Episode 48 – Hurricane Fluttershy

"Where are you?"

"…huh…?" I whispered, opening my eyes slowly. When my vision cleared up, and my eyes fully opened, I was welcomed by darkness. I groaned and looked around. I tried to lay my head back and close my eyes to sleep, but I couldn't. I started feeling chilly, even with the blankets. However, the chills were mostly composed of hidden fears. I began feeling a little afraid…I don't know why… I'm not scared of the dark…but…why is this happening to me…? I also got up in a rapid movement and paced around. I'm still in Fluttershy's cottage…so why do I feel like this? It was still dark, and I wasn't feeling any better. I sighed. Maybe…maybe…I… Maybe I can stay with Fluttershy? I mean… not just in her home but…have her close to me… But… I don't want her to her to get the wrong idea…

I growled mentally.

I can't sleep…but I don't want her to feel awkward or uncomfortable, especially if she sees or wakes up to see me near her in bed…

I stopped pacing and looked up the stairs where Fluttershy's room was at. I sighed. I really hope she doesn't take this the wrong way… I quietly walked the stairs up to her room and looked in. It was a little too dark, but I could see her body under the covers and on the bed. I carefully and softly maneuvered in her room. I looked for an empty space on her bed. Her bed wasn't made for two ponies, so I was a little worried I wouldn't fit. Nonetheless, I carefully and softly placed my hooves on the empty space. I spent a few moments, trying to lift myself up while not making too much noise. Finally, when I was on, I carefully shifted a little more into the bed, not wanting to fall off. I almost jumped when I felt her body. I released a quiet breath and decided that it would be good enough. I already had enough trouble trying to get on the bed, so I didn't bother trying to slip in the covers. I waited a little to get comfortable and finally closed my eyes. As I felt her soft and warm body touch me, I felt much better than before… I knew that I wasn't alone. I knew that the love of my life was right beside me. And whatever it was that was bothering me, wont bother me as much since Fluttershy is right by my side…

I awakened to hear some birds chirping outside. I lightly opened my eyes to see daylight. I rubbed my eyes to open them fully, but in doing this, I discovered that I had the covers from Fluttershy's bed wrapped around me. I quickly looked to my right to see if Fluttershy was still there. She wasn't. Then, I began hearing some humming at the bottom of the stairs. I sat there a little shocked, and then looked at the blankets on top of me. So…she found out that I slept by her and didn't get mad? Hm… I lightly brushed the blankets off me and stepped out from the bed. I made those covers and began walking downstairs.

I saw Fluttershy tending to her animals as she continued to hum. She seemed to hear me when I reached the bottom of the stairs and turned to see me. She smiled warmly. "Good morning, Alex."

"Oh… Good morning, Fluttershy… um…" I rubbed my head with my hoof. "…sorry I slept with you last night…"

She lightly flew over to me and kissed me. "That's alright. Did something happen?"

"Well…" I continued to rub my head. "Yeah…I guess… I just couldn't sleep… Even though I was in your home, I began feeling alone again and scared… I felt like I needed some pony else with me…"

She placed a hoof on my shoulder. "Don't worry, Alex… I understand." She kissed my cheek and embraced me. After a moment, she pulled away and looked at me again. "Are you hungry?"

"Sure. Want to go to town?"

She lightly smiled. "Okay."

We walked out the front door and began heading towards town.

We arrived in the middle of town. Strangely, there were only pegasi in this area… However, I did manage to see Derpy with her usual crossed eyed expression.

"Hey, Derpy." I greeted her with a smile. "You remember Fluttershy, right?"

"Hi, Alex! Of course I do!" She responded happily. "Hi, Fluttershy!" Derpy waved over to Fluttershy.

Fluttershy didn't seem as shy as in their first encounter. She smiled lightly and waved to her as well. Before I could continue on with the conversation, I heard some whooshing above us. "Calling all pegasus ponies! Meeting tonight!" We heard Rainbow Dash announce above us as she rained down flyers.

Derpy began reading one flyer that landed on the ground in front of her while a flyer landed on Fluttershy's mane. I noticed how Derpy moved her eyes in a reading motion, yet they remained crossed. Fluttershy grabbed the flyer off from her mane with her hoof. In only one second, she looked at the flyer and quickly fled away, catching Derpy's and my attention.

"Mandatory meeting for all Ponyville pegasi." I heard a Pegasus read nearby.

"Library, tonight. Be cool, or be mule." Rainbow continued, dumping all of the papers in her sack and flying near a familiar mule. "No offense."

"None taken." He responded.

I remember that… I shook my head and looked at Derpy. "Sorry, Derpy. I have to go find Fluttershy. I don't know why she left just like that."

"It's okay. I hope everything's alright." She responded.

"Thanks." I nodded. "I'll probably see you later."

She smiled and waved.

I trotted throughout town, looking around for Fluttershy. "Fluttershy?" I heard some soft whimpers coming from a nearby barrel. I walked towards it and opened it to see Fluttershy trembling inside. "Fluttershy…What are you doing in there?" I asked gently. She didn't really answer but looked up to see me. "Come on…" I grabbed her hoof and gently pulled her out. "Let's talk this over breakfast."

We sat at a table outside the café, waiting for our orders. I looked at Fluttershy and noticed her frowning. I grabbed her hoof and held it on the table. "Fluttershy, what's wrong?"

"Um…You know those flyers Rainbow Dash was passing out…?" She responded.

"Yes?"

"Well…I…um…you know how I'm shy? Well… it has something to do with that…"

"I don't understand…"

She hesitated for a moment, looking around uneasily with her eyes. "Listen… I think it's just best if I don't go to the meeting…"

"Why not?" I asked. "I'll go with you, if you need me to…"

"But it's only for Pegasi…"

"I'll ask Rainbow if I can go in. I'm sure she'll let me."

"Well…" She thought about it for a moment. "Okay… I guess I can try…"

The waiter brought us our food after. I smiled at her, hoping to ease and comfort her a little bit. She saw it and managed to smile a bit as well. Then, we looked at our food and began consuming it, together.

That night, when the meeting was to take place, we walked over to Twilight's home, where it would take place as well. We saw many Pegasi in a line around the home.

"Don't worry… I'll be right by your side…" I told Fluttershy as I kept my eyes on the line.

"Alright, go on in, find a seat." She directed the ones in the line, causing them to walk in. I caught up with Rainbow Dash as she looked inside and began counting. "Ohh..." She groaned for some reason.

"What is it, Rainbow?" I inquired.

"It's Fluttershy, she isn't in there." She responded.

"Oh, she's right— I turned to face Fluttershy, but she actually wasn't there beside me. I looked around me. "Fluttershy?" I continued looking around. "Where did she go…?"

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes. "Don't worry. She's pulled this trick tons of times before." She flew over to a tree, which looked perfectly normal. I raised an eyebrow in slight confusion. "You too, Fluttershy." Suddenly, a pair of eyes opened up. Rainbow Dash flew behind the tree, causing Fluttershy to reveal herself. Was this some kind of tree costume…? "Come on, let's go." Rainbow Dash stated as she began pushing her towards the house.

"Hold on, Rainbow." I told her, rushing towards her. "Let me handle this."

"Alright…" She released her hooves on the tree and allowed me to talk to Fluttershy.

I gently grabbed Fluttershy's hooves from inside the tree and began to lightly pull her out. "It's okay, Fluttershy… I'm right here… remember?" I looked at Rainbow Dash. "Is it alright if I come in with Fluttershy?" I asked.

"Yeah, sure. As long as she comes in." Rainbow Dash replied with crossed forelegs.

I nodded and presented an assuring smile to Fluttershy. "See? It won't be so bad. I promise. I'll be right with you."

"…okay…" She lifted herself out of the tree costume and began walking by my side, holding my hoof tightly.

"Let's go." Rainbow led us towards the house. "The presentation's about to start." She flew inside, causing us to walk inside as well.

As soon as we were inside, Fluttershy and I sat at the back of the room, especially since I didn't want to push her too much. A film began playing as the lights were turned off. Based on how the film was displayed, I figured that it was a really old film… Once the countdown was complete, a black horse with wings was depicted on the screen and old music played. After, the announcer in the film began speaking.

"Every living thing depends on the life-giving nourishment of rainwater, and it is up to Cloudsdale to provide rain-filled clouds to every corner of Equestria." As the announcer spoke, the film depicted small choppy drawings in order to allow every pony watching to understand. "But how, one pony might ask, does Cloudsdale gather all this extra water? Tornado power! That's right, pegasi-driven tornado power. A team of pegasi combine their wing power to create a jumbo tornado, powerful enough to pull water out of the local reservoir, and funnel it all the way up to Cloudsdale. Remember, pegasi, your jumbo tornado must reach a minimum of eight hundred wing power to lift that water up to Cloudsdale. So, the next time you're wondering "Where does all that extra rainwater come from?", just remem—

Everything in the film suddenly halted in a distorted way. This caused for the ponies watching to return confused chatter. When the lights turned on, we turned our heads to see Spike having some trouble with the projector as there was film spread everywhere in a mess. "Uh... intermission?" He shrugged.

"So, here's the scoop." Rainbow Dash announced in front of us as she flew. "Cloudsdale has chosen our own highland reservoir as a source of the rainwater they need for all of Equestria. And you know what that means. It means it's up to Ponyville's pegasi to bring that water up to Cloudsdale." She received excited chatter from the crowd. "Not only that, but Spitfire," She pulled down a poster, depicting Spitfire. "…captain of the Wonderbolts, will be here to oversee the water transfer and record our top tornado windspeed. Now last year," She pulled down a chart. "…Fillydelphia broke the windspeed record with a top speed of nine hundred and ten wing power." I would have never known… "But I think we can do better." She pulled down another chart that I assumed was supposed to be us. "I think we can get a top speed over a thousand!" This increased the excited chatter in the crowd even more. I looked over to see Fluttershy and notice her beginning to become uncomfortable. "...if each and every pony trains, and trains hard to get their wing power numbers up." There was coughing. "That coughing better be from a popcorn kernel, Thunderlane. Nopony's getting sick on my watch. So, are we gonna train hard?"

"Yeah!" The Pegasi cheered.

"Are we gonna be strong?"

"Yeah!"

"Are we gonna be fast?"

"Yeah!"

I now noticed Fluttershy lying on the floor with her hooves covering her eyes, significantly growing my concern.

"Record-smashing fast?" She asked a pony with a white coat. Dare I even say pony? He's huge! He was seriously extremely buff in every part of his body, wearing a piercing on his ear and having weights for his cutie mark. Ironically…he had small wings… but I'm sure that didn't stop him.

"YEAH!" He emphasized loudly.

"Who's with me?"

The crowd cheered loudly. As they cheered, Fluttershy quickly grabbed my hoof and caused me to give her my full attention.

"Alex…please come out…now…" She whispered.

"What…?" I asked, a little concerned and confused.

"Just please. Come." She quickly took me out of the home and outside. Afterwards, she frowned and lowered her head as she walked away.

I quickly walked to her and by her side, looking at her in a very concerned manner. "Fluttershy, what's going on? You've been so…uncomfortable ever since you got the flyers…"

She sighed while continuing to stare at the ground. "It's…I…" She whimpered a little.

"Fluttershy…"

"I'll try to explain to you at the cottage…"

"Alright…"

We walked back to the cottage, almost in absolute silence as I could only remain concerned for her…

Inside, we sat on the couch together. I placed my hoof on hers as I could only stare at her frown and worried eyes, which looked away from me. "Fluttershy…tell me… what's going on…? What's making you like this…?"

I saw her start to form a bit of tears in her eyes. "I'm…I'm afraid of others…"

"What do you mean?" I asked, leaning in a bit closer to her.

"Well…back at flight camp…when I was just a little filly… Um…" She paused for a moment. "The others there used to tease me…a lot… Ever since… I've been afraid to perform in front of others… I just can't stand it… the fear is always there…" A tear fell from her face and she began to cry a bit …

"Oh, Fluttershy…" I lightly caressed her face and turned it towards me. "Trust me…" I stated, looking into her eyes. "No pony will tease you here if you try your best. And even if they do… I'll be there to make sure they keep their mouths shut."

"You'd really do that for me, Alex…?" She asked.

"Of course. You're my girlfriend and I love you very much."

"Oh…" She groaned softly. "But… I understand…and I love you too… it's just…so very hard…I don't think I can go…"

"Well…whatever choice you make, I'll support it. Honestly, in my opinion, I think you should face your fear. But if it really hurts you too much to where you can't do anything about it… then I understand, and I'll be there for you."

"Thank you, Alex." She leaned her head towards mine and kissed me softly on the lips. "You're the best…"

I nodded. "Why don't you get some rest? I'm sure that'll make you feel a little better."

She managed to smile lightly. "Okay." She began walking towards the stairs, but then glanced at me. "Um…will you be sleeping over again?"

"Sure. If that's okay with you…"

She smiled and nodded. "Mm-hm. Goodnight, Sweetie."

Before she began to walk upstairs, I walked up to her and embraced her for a moment. Then, I kissed her gently on the lips and allowed her to retire to the room. She bloomed a bit in her cheeks before she walked up to her room. I smiled lightly and walked back to the couch. I took in a deep breath and hoped that I would get a good sleep without those disturbances that have been happening randomly lately…

Fortunately, when I woke up, I didn't recall any disturbances bothering me last night. I heard some soft hooves tap the area near me, causing me to open my eyes and sit up. I turned my head to see Fluttershy in her robe…but she had spots all over her body. "Fluttershy!" I quickly rushed out of the couch and towards her. "What's wrong? Are you sick?"

"N-no…" She shook her head. "I'm fine."

"Why do you have those spots all around you then?" I asked, still concerned.

"I'm just trying to pretend I'm sick so I don't have to go to training today…"

"Oh…Fluttershy…"

We suddenly heard knocking on the door. "Fluttershy? I know you're in there!" It was Rainbow Dash. "You're avoiding tornado duty and I want to know why! Fluttershy, open—

Fluttershy walked towards the door and opened it slightly. Then, she opened it and walked out, revealing herself in a very sickly manner. "Achoo." She created a sneeze, which was able to be distinguished as fake. "Hi, Rainbow Dash." She coughed weakly.

"Fluttershy, what happened to you?" Rainbow asked.

"Oh I" She sniffed. "I think I have" She coughed weakly. "the pony pox. I'm sorry, I really, really wanted to come to training day today" She weakly coughed again, sliding herself on the floor a little dramatically. "but this pony pox has really knocked me for a loop. Achoo." She coughed again.

However, I had a feeling Rainbow Dash wouldn't give up so easily… "Oh, you poor thing." She responded. "You know, there's only one cure for pony pox."

"I know, plenty of bed—

Fluttershy yelped when Rainbow Dash suddenly rained down a bucket of water on top of her, drenching all of her mane and robe. "Cold water! Those pony pox are clearing right up." She stated as the dots Fluttershy had wore off and sunk to floor.

"Oh, y'know, all of a sudden I'm, I'm starting to feel better." Fluttershy laughed nervously. "I'll just get out of these robes and- She fell to the floor and landed on her wing, causing me to widen my eyes and quickly rush over to her- ow!"

"Fluttershy!" I picked her up and held her in my hooves. "Are you alright?"

"Oh, my wing, oh, ow, it's hurt, I guess I can't fly after all—

Rainbow Dash blew her whistle all of a sudden, causing Fluttershy to yelp and jump from my hooves. She even escaped from her robe as she flew above us, presenting that her wing was perfectly fine. "Messed up wing, huh?" Fluttershy looked around and shrugged. "Stop horsing around, Fluttershy." She landed by me and lowered her head. "We've got a lot of training to do. Come on now, what's going on?" Rainbow Dash placed a hoof over her shoulder.

"Well, y'see, uh, well," Fluttershy struggled. "Oh, Rainbow Dash, I just can't do it! I can't fly!" Fluttershy placed her hooves on hers, lying on the ground, which caused me to frown.

"What are you talking about?" Rainbow Dash flew in mid-air. "Just last week you went into that wicked nose dive to save that falling baby bird right before it hit the ground!" She depicted the move inside.

"But that was different, that was an emergency! This whole tornado thing, it's more like a performance, and you know how I hate performing in front of others. Don't you remember flight camp? I couldn't gallop hard, or fly fast, not with everypony looking at me!" She walked towards me and placed her head on my shoulder sadly.

"It wasn't that bad."

"You're right, Rainbow Dash, it wasn't bad. It was horrible!" She paused for a moment. "The other foals used to tease me, a lot!" She walked over to Rainbow Dash and placed her hooves on her shoulders. "I just can't risk that sort of humiliation again."

"Suck it up, Fluttershy! This is no time for—

"Rainbow, stop." I announced, grabbing Fluttershy and holding her close to me. "I know exactly how she feels, and the thing she certainly doesn't need right now is somepony yelling at her…"

Rainbow sighed and lowered her tone. "Alright…what I mean is… confidence or no confidence, I'm gonna need every pegasus to break the record, including you. I need every ounce of wing power I can get."

"Oh, I-I don't think so, Rainbow Dash..." Fluttershy responded, shaking her head and holding her hooves around my neck.

Rainbow sighed again and began flying out sadly. "Thanks anyway."

I frowned and looked at Fluttershy. She noticed and looked into my eyes. She frowned as well and looked around with her eyes, beginning to think about it. Just before Rainbow could reach the door, she spoke. "Wait." Rainbow Dash stopped. "I'll do it…"

"You will?" Rainbow rushed back over to her, grinning brightly.

"I will." Fluttershy answered, managing to smile softly.

"You're game?" Rainbow asked, flapping her wings.

"I'm game." Fluttershy agreed.

"Alright!" Rainbow Dash grabbed her and flew her around in excitement. I looked at Fluttershy's expression and I could still spot uneasiness in it. Rainbow Dash then placed her back on the ground and was ready to fly out. "Come on, Fluttershy! The training is still going on!"

"Okay…um…" She glanced over to me. "Can I just have a moment, please…?"

"Alright…don't take too long though." Rainbow Dash stated and then left.

After, Fluttershy walked over to me and embraced me. She looked like a little girl who didn't want to leave her parents… I frowned and placed my hooves around her. "It'll be alright, Fluttershy… I'll come with you. I'll be there for you and cheer for you, even if the others don't. I don't care what they think. I only care about you."

She tightened her embrace. "Thank you, Alex…" She sighed and grabbed my hoof, ready to walk by my side. I lightly nodded and stood up. Afterwards, I began walking her out the door and towards the training grounds.

Arriving there, we saw Twilight and Spike sitting in the middle of the track with a small machine. I walked over to them with Fluttershy, hoping that seeing one of her good friends would calm her down a bit.

"Hey, Twilight, Spike." I greeted with a small smile.

"Hey, Alex." Twilight returned and then faced Fluttershy. "Are you going to train for bringing the water up to Cloudsdale?"

"Um…" Fluttershy replied, hesitating a bit. "Yes…"

I leaned in towards Twilight a little and whispered. "She's a little nervous right now…"

"Oh. I see. Well, with you by her side, I'm sure she'll feel better." Twilight added confidently.

"I hope so…"

A couple of ponies walked towards us, noticing the machine, and asked about it, which was what I was going to do. "What exactly does this machine do?"

"This is an anemometer." Twilight explained, pointing towards the machine. "It measures your accelerative velocity and translates it into wing power, thus gauging your cumulative H2O anti-gravitational potential. Any other questions?"

"Yeah." The other one answered after looking confused at Twilight's explanation. "What exactly does this machine do?" She asked, directing towards me or Spike.

"Um…I'm assuming it measures how fast your speed is and how strong your wings are?" Hence, the context clues "accelerative velocity" and "wing power".

"Ohhhh...okay...I see..." The two Pegasi, including the crowd, responded and seemed to have understand.

Twilight formed a sort of irritated expression on her face, though not directly at me, until we heard a pegasus cough in the crowd. Twilight poked her head out to see who it was. "Is that you again, Thunderlane? Please," She sprayed an anti-germ can near him. "…we need to have a germ-free environment."

"It wasn't me, it was Blossomforth." He argued.

"Don't worry, Twilight." Rainbow Dash flew in front of Twilight with her forelegs crossed. "Thunderlane's just cooking up an excuse to spend tornado day in bed. Why don't you get over here and be our first test flyer, Thunderlane?" This caused him to return an angry expression while the pony beside him giggled. He flew over to the starting line of the track and readied his wings. Once he was ready, he fluttered his wings rapidly and flew past the anemometer, causing it spin with the wind.

Once it stopped, Twilight analyzed the gauge. "We have 9.3 wing power."

This caused the other ponies to congratulate and praise him, especially that rather large and muscular fellow who exclaimed his usual "YEAH!"

"Not bad...not bad." Rainbow Dash commented, looking at the notes Spike was taking. Then, she flew over to the starting line and cracked every one of her joints, preparing herself in the sprinting position. Once she was ready, she quickly flashed her wings, increased her velocity significantly and even created a rainbow behind her as she flew. The huge gust of wind she caused even made us feel like we were going to be blown away. I looked to my side to see Fluttershy being slightly dragged away from me, causing me to quickly grab her and hold her close to me.

"16.5 wing power!" Twilight announced, leaving the crowd to respond in mighty cheers.

"Now listen up!" Rainbow Dash caught each of their attention. "If each of you can get your numbers up to at least 10.0 wing power by the end of the week, we'll no doubt set a new tornado speed record. We'll be number one!"

The other pegasi cheered and began flying around above us in excitement. However, Fluttershy remained with me staring at the ground sadly. She looked up to see the pegasi in their celebration. When she saw them having fun, her wings began to flap on their own. She also smiled lightly, looking as if she wanted to join them. She noticed her wings and quickly placed them away, staring back at the ground. She seemed…insecure…

"Fluttershy…" I commented, wrapping my hoof around her. "I don't like to see you like this…you seem so…sad…"

"I'm sorry, Alex… It's all my fault."

"No it isn't." I looked into her eyes. "You're perfect the way you are, and I believe in you. You just need to believe in yourself…and you'll do fine…"

She looked at me and closed her eyes, nuzzling her head on my chest, but continuing to keep the frown. "Thank you, Alex…"

I sighed silently and held her as I nuzzled my head on hers as well.

Later on, Twilight and Spike continued to measure each pegasus's wing power. Fluttershy remained by my side the whole time, seeming to become a little more nervous every time she saw a pegasus speed its way on the track. She dug her head in my chest as I could only continue to pat and try to comfort her. Finally, it seemed as if the last pegasus had had his turn, leaving only Fluttershy left. Spike revealed the records in the notepad towards Rainbow Dash, who observed them and smiled. "Impressive. Fluttershy, your turn." Fluttershy instantly jumped. Rainbow blew her whistle and clapped her hooves.

"Come on, Fluttershy. You'll do great." I stood up and walked her to the starting line. She didn't answer but only walked towards the line, looking downwards. Once she started looking around, her legs began trembling. She noticed how every pony was looking at her. "Just look at me, Fluttershy. I'm here." I told her softly. She did so and then at her wings, flapping them a bit. She took in a deep breath and began to fly with a lowered head. However, it seemed as if she was beginning to become a little more comfortable as she raised her head and continued flying, smiling at her wings. Unfortunately, those two other pegasi were watching and laughed. Fluttershy noticed this and immediately came to a very slow speed, looking back with a worried face. I quickly ran over to the end to meet up with her.

"Tell her!" I heard Twilight say to Rainbow Dash in a hushed tone.

"No, you tell her!" Rainbow Dash argued in the same tone.

"No, you!"

"Um... great job, Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash gave up and placed her hooves behind her back. "You measured, uh, uh, .5."

Fluttershy returned a smile with ears perked up anyway.

".5? Isn't that like... less than one?" Spike commented, causing Twilight to bonk him on the head. "Ow!"

Fluttershy immediately shifted from her happy expression to a saddened one. Then, I noticed her staring at the other pegasi. They weren't laughing, and I think they honestly didn't care at all, but she seemed to take it the wrong way. In only a few moments, she seemed to be panicking greatly on the inside, causing me to run to her aid.

"Fluttershy…don't worry about it, you did— She immediately turned around and began running away, sobbing as her mane covered her teary face. "Fluttershy, wait!" I called for her, beginning to run after her.

Rainbow Dash noticed her and called out to her as well. "Fluttershy, wait!" She quickly flew by her as she galloped away. "So some punks poked a little fun at you and you got stage fright, big deal. You aren't gonna go quit just because of that, are you?"

Fluttershy stopped and turned around, looking at Rainbow Dash with tears streaming from her face. "Yes!" She exclaimed through her crying.

As I saw her cry, I widened my eyes in shock and chills were sent throughout my body. Oh, Fluttershy…don't…

"But I need you!" Rainbow Dash pleaded, seeming to not understand how to comfort Fluttershy.

"I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy apologized, speaking between sobs. "I just don't have the courage right now..." She continued to gallop away as she cried.

"Fluttershy!" I called out to her again, sprinting heavily to catch up to her.

I continued running, but I eventually lost her. I looked around desperately to find her, but I pounded the ground with my hooves, sighing heavily and feeling the need to cry myself. However, I continued walking near a stream, now feeling tears that wanted to fall from my eyes. I was just about to fall to the ground to cry myself until I heard whimpers. My ears perked as I looked around. There, I saw Fluttershy, lying under a large tree in the shade. I quickly ran towards her and came to a trot, then a walk, when I was only a few feet away from her. She continued crying as she laid down, digging her face in her hooves. Her quiet sobs made me feel even worse, but they motivated me to quickly confront her.

I quickly, but quietly, laid by her side. She didn't notice me yet and continued to cry. I raised my hoof and stroked her mane. "Fluttershy…"

She slowly lifted her head, revealing tears still streaming from her face. She had a few pieces of grass on her face. I lifted my other hoof and caressed her cheek, using my right hoof to lightly remove the pieces of grass on her. "Alex…why are you even still my boyfriend…?"

Her questioned shocked me, causing me to frown as I looked at her. "Why would you ask something like that, Fluttershy…?"

"Well…" She continued to sniffle, crying lightly. "I don't see how you could love me. I can hardly fly and all those ponies were laughing at me. "She dug her head back in her hooves. "I'm the worst girlfriend ever…"

"Don't say that, Fluttershy." I responded, catching her attention and causing her to look at me. "I don't care about any of that. I love you for who you are. To me, Fluttershy… you're the most beautiful and perfect pony. I love everything about you. You're sweet, gentle, and especially great with animals. You're not selfish, spoiled, or mean."

She nuzzled her head with mine. "But…how can I help the other pegasi? I can't fly…"

"Yes, you can, Fluttershy. You just need to be confident… you can't let those other ponies distract you…"

"But…but…" Tears continued to stream from her eyes. "It's just so hard…"

I sighed. "Listen, Fluttershy… I know what you've been through. Trust me… When I was a little colt, I was always humiliated in my life. You know… It wasn't just teasing… It was basically torture. Whenever I would go home, hoping to just escape everything that happened at school, home actually made everything worse. There, I met my parents and sister who just…" I paused and shook my head. "Listen… I know how you feel Fluttershy… I really do… But you can't just lie here and expect it to solve itself. You have to try… You have to do something about it… And I'm here to support you in any way I can…"

"Alex…" She continued to look at me with watery eyes.

I lightly touched the left side of her face with my hoof and leaned in to kiss her passionately. I could feel her tears press on my cheeks. After a moment, I lightly pulled away and continued to gaze at her. She did the same and then looked around. She moved her eyes back to me in a determined sort of way. "You know what… you're right, Alex… I shouldn't give up." She sat up and began flying. "I will get my confidence up and show everypony that I am a good flyer!" She flew upwards towards the sky. "A great flyer!"

I stood up and looked at her with a smile across my face. "That's the spirit, Fluttershy!"

After that, we planned to spend as much time as we needed to get Fluttershy in tip-top shape. She managed to grab her animal friends to help her train, including Angel. Fluttershy was running in place as she wore a workout uniform, consisting of bands on her legs and one on her head. Angel wore a coach's cap and a whistle, just like Rainbow Dash wore. We stood by the stream and I was prepared to keep Fluttershy motivated. Angel blew the whistle, allowing her to rise up in the air as I followed below her. She then began flying, but two of her bunnies and a squirrel pulled out pony masks in order to resemble a crowd. Fluttershy noticed this and covered her eyes with her hooves, crashing through a tree afterwards.

After pulling her out, Fluttershy then began doing pushups with her wings. As she struggled to do so, the critters pulled out the pony masks again, frightening Fluttershy and allowing her to drop to the floor.

Next, Fluttershy played tug-of-war with a butterfly as three other critters wore the masks. She failed as she was pulled in the mud.

Then, she flew over a patch of dandelions as the animals stared at her with the masks. Her speed represented to be only a little as she only blew off one little piece of the dandelion.

When she tried doing the pushups again, she was able to do them, but she sweated nervously, creating a pool of her sweat under her as she uncomfortably did the pushups. I stopped her for a moment and looked into her eyes with a determined face of my own. I placed my hooves on her cheeks and kissed her passionately for a few seconds. I pulled away and continued to stare into her eyes with a determined face. "You can do this." I stated, causing her to look at me for a moment and then nod confidently.

She moved on to the tug-of-war. This time it was with three butterflies. She was winning at the beginning but then the butterflies managed to drag her across the white line. After, she flew over the patch of dandelions again, managing to blow off one complete dandelion. She was getting better, much better, causing me to cheer for her. "There you go, Fluttershy! You're doing great!"

In the pushup trial, she was now able to do them confidently and boldly, even sucking in any tears that wanted to come out. In the tug-of-war trial, she was able to be triumph against a group of many butterflies, throwing all of them against a tree. At first, she was worried, but they all presented themselves to be fine.

Finally, Fluttershy flew over the dandelions again and blew them all off!

When she realized how much better and more confident she became, she quickly flew over to me and tackled me to the ground in happiness. "Oh, Alex! I think I'm finally ready!" She hugged me tightly.

I smiled and hugged her as well. "I knew you could do it Fluttershy, and I know you'll be brave back at the track."

"You're right!" She responded confidently. "Let's go! Right now!"

I nodded and quickly stood up to walk with her towards the track.

As we neared towards the track, I trotted by Fluttershy as she flew confidently. Several of her animal friends followed us as well. I followed her to the starting line at the track. As the critters prepared her, I kissed her on the cheek. When she was ready, the animals and I walked back to the sidelines and began to watch to see how she would do. She flapped her wings and sped off as fast as she could, causing me to run and head towards the end.

"2.3. 2.3?" I heard Fluttershy say in an unbelievable tone, causing me to become concerned. "That has to be some kind of mistake! I worked so hard!" I noticed Fluttershy beginning to become disappointed with herself now…

"Fluttershy, that's a huge improvement!" Twilight told her. I could see tears form in her eyes again… Oh no…

"She's right, Fluttershy." I added, hoping that she wouldn't become depressed again. "You were amazing."

"You did awesome, Fluttershy." Rainbow encouraged, patting her on the back.

"No I didn't." Fluttershy responded. "I thought I'd gotten over my nerves, but they still got the best of me!" She began walking away sadly, causing me to step towards her with my hoof out. "There's no way I'll fly with 10.0 wing power by tomorrow!"

"So you won't fly with 10.0 wing power." Rainbow Dash said, placing a hoof around her. "Every bit counts!"

"How would you feel if everypony else was flying with 10.0 wing power and you were flying with 2.5?" Fluttershy stated, facing directly at her with an annoyed expression.

"Actually, it was only 2.3, and- ow!" Twilight slapped a hoof on him again, making gestures to shut him up.

"Well, uh..." Rainbow Dash grabbed her cap and took it off. She rubbed it and was speechless of words as Fluttershy stared at her in an irritating manner. "I'd feel... um..."

"Exactly! Humiliated!" She began speaking between sobs again, walking away. "I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash, I just can't do it!"

I formed a saddened expression and frowned. "Fluttershy, wait…" I called, trotting after her.

"Leave me alone, Alex…" She answered, her voice beginning to break.

"No, Fluttershy, hang on…" I continued to catch up to her.

She finally stopped and turned around to see me, revealing her watery eyes and the tears that were beginning to stream down her face. She whimpered a little and suddenly wrapped her hooves around me, placing her head on my chest and crying. I looked around me. The sun was beginning to set. I looked back at Fluttershy, who continued to release her emotions. I gently placed a hoof around her and patted her, feeling those soft and depressing tears spill onto my coat and wet it…

It was dark when I finally took her to her home. She was still sad. I frowned as well, because whenever she was sad, I was sad. I took her up the stairs to her room and gently placed her on the bed. She was still sniffling a bit and her eyes remained closed. I grabbed the covers from her bed and pulled them over her. I neatly and softly tucked her in. Her whimpering ceased to soft ones. I stroked her mane a bit and kissed her cheek. Then, I walked downstairs and turned out the lights. I began getting ready to sleep on the couch, but I could hear her soft whimpers and sniffles from her room. I furrowed my eyebrows in a depressing way and sighed. She needs me… I forgot about getting the covers for the couch. Instead, I walked up the stairs and back to her bedroom. Near her bed, I gently and carefully climbed on. I slid into the covers and patted her. She then turned around and embraced me, surprising me a bit. She continued to cry a little on my chest, but I definitely didn't care about that. I just didn't like to see her so upset… I'm going to do whatever I can to comfort her… I wrapped my hooves around her and continued to pat her back. I repeated this until her quiet sobbing slowly faded away and she now began to sleep, breathing in and out softly. Her hooves were still around me. I guess I was now her teddy bear… It doesn't matter… I love her… I closed my eyes and began to sleep as I held her in my hooves.

When I slowly opened my eyes, it was daylight. Not only did I notice the light, but I also noticed Fluttershy. She was still asleep. I carefully and quietly maneuvered through her embrace. It took a while, but I was able to be successful in not waking her up. I sat at the side of the bed, looking out the window. It looked to be early in the morning. Hm… I guess I should go see how it goes with the water… I glanced back at Fluttershy. I should let her sleep… I grabbed a piece of a paper and wrote on it with a pencil from the nightstand by her bed. I'm going to the watch the pegasi lift the water to Cloudsdale. Don't worry. You don't have to come. I can't stand to see you become more hurt… If you don't want to come, it's perfectly fine. I absolutely understand. I'll see you in a bit, okay? I love you. Alex. Afterwards, I placed the pencil back and slid the note under Fluttershy's hoof. I stood up from the bed and began to quietly walk across the room and down the stairs. When I did, I opened the front door and began walking towards the location where the whole thing would take place.

Once I arrived, I spotted a huge line of pegasi. There was also a huge anemometer near Twilight and Spike. Rainbow noticed me and flew over to me.

"Hey, Alex… How's Fluttershy…?" She asked me, rubbing her head a bit.

"Well…she's sleeping right now… I told her that she didn't have to come if she didn't want to…especially if it would hurt her…"

"Oh…right…" She continued to rub her head. "I guess I understand…" We heard a whooshing above us, causing us to look up. If I remembered correctly, it was Spitfire from the wonderbolts. She flew towards us, stopping by the anemometer. Her presence allowed the other pegasi to cheer loudly as she waved at all of them. Rainbow Dash took notice and flew in front of the other pegasi. "Are we ready to do this?"

"Yeah!" The crowd cheered.

Before Rainbow Dash could blow her whistle, Spike came running towards her. "Look!" He presented his notepad before her.

She analyzed it for a moment. "Lazy Thunderlane! Where is he? He's been trying to get out of tornado duty the whole time with his fake coughing and all. Rumble, where's your lazy brother?" She asked a little colt in the line of pegasi.

"He's got the feather flu. He's down at Ponyville hospital." He answered.

"But he's not the only one." Spike added, presenting his list again, showing several ponies absent as there was an x on each of their names.

Twilight grabbed an old calculator and began calculating the results with the missing pegasi. "Let's see, with those eight sick pegasi out with the feather flu..." She gasped. "Oh no…"

"Don't tell me we won't be able to break the windspeed record!" Rainbow Dash shared, becoming worried.

"No..." Twilight shook her head, but obviously had more to share.

"Phew!"

"...you might not have enough wing power to create a tornado powerful enough to lift the water to Cloudsdale!"

"Well, should we pack up?" Spike asked.

Rainbow Dash stood silent as she looked at the other pegasi in line, especially Spitfire who was fumbling with her watch. "No. Of course not. Forget the record." She lowered the goggles she had to her eyes. "Cloudsdale still needs water!" She flew before the crowd of ponies. "Okay, everypony! Let's give it all we've got!" She announced, causing them to place on their goggles. "On the sound of the horn, we take off!"

After checking the anemometer, Twilight tapped it, gesturing that it was good to go. Spike took in a deep breath and blew the horn. Every pegasi lifted off into the air and began flying in a formation, already creating a tornado that spun the anemometer. "You think they're gonna make it to eight hundred wing power?" Spike asked.

"I sure hope so!" Twilight responded and began reading off the anemometer. "One hundred and fifty wing power. Two hundred and fifty wing power. Five hundred wing power!"

"Good so far…" I commented under my breath, continuing to analyze the scene. The water beneath them began being lifted.

"Seven hundred and fifty wing power!"

The wind was now growing really strong.

"Alex!" I heard a soft voice behind me.

I turned around to see Fluttershy struggling to reach towards me. "Fluttershy! What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I figured... if I couldn't help Rainbow Dash with the tornado... the least I could do was offer moral support!" She exclaimed softly through the powerful wind.

"She could sure use it, considering eight pegasi are sick with the feather flu!" Twilight announced as I grabbed Fluttershy's hoof and helped bring her to me, where I held on to the machine.

"Oh no! That's terrible news!"

All of the water was beginning to lift up, but one of the pegasi became tired and softened his flying, crashing against the other pegasi which led to a whole mess… Every pegasi was thrown out and the water that was inside the tornado fell back inside, where it started. Rainbow Dash landed near us, on a tree, causing us to rush over to her.

"Are you okay?" Twilight asked.

"I'm fine!" Rainbow muffled, trying to pull herself out.

I placed my hooves on her and helped her.

"Oh, you were so close to the eight hundred wing power minimum! I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash…" Twilight stated, sadly.

I managed to pull Rainbow out. "We've got to try again!" She exclaimed, beginning to start over.

"But you've pushed your crew to their limit already!" Twilight responded, grabbing Rainbow's tail with her magic and pulling her back on the ground. "If you break apart again, somepony could get hurt!" She pointed towards the ponies that were lying on the ground and shaking off the water they had. "You should quit, it's not safe!" I even saw Derpy flying with her head lowered, panting from exhaustion.

"No! One more time!" Rainbow slapped Twilight's hoof away. "I've gotta know we gave it our all! If I'm going down, I'm going down flying!" She flew above us and announced towards the pegasi. "C'mon, ponies, let's make this happen!"

Nonetheless, the ponies returned respectful cheers. Spike blew the horn once more, causing the pegasi to fly in a formation again.

"Okay, here we go..." Twilight began to announce, observing the anemometer. "One hundred wing power! Two hundred... five hundred!" Inside, I could see Rainbow Dash trying to keep the pegasi ponies' motivation up. "Seven hundred! Seven hundred and fifty wing power!"

Fluttershy was forced to fall back towards the machine, causing her to hold on to it.

"They fell apart right after this!" Spike shouted out.

"Oh, I'm too nervous to look!" Fluttershy commented, placing her hooves on her face.

"C'mon! Just a little harder! I can see the water trying to funnel through!" I heard Rainbow Dash exclaim from inside.

"Seven ninety five! We are so close!" Twilight announced. "Fluttershy, they need you up there!"

"I won't make a difference!" She responded, shaking her head.

"You can make a difference!" Twilight argued.

"My measly 2.3 wing power is still too little!"

"It's sticking at seven ninety five! I don't know if they've got any more in 'em!" Spike exclaimed after reading the anemometer.

"Do it for Equestria! Do it for Rainbow Dash! Do it for yourself!" Twilight held a pair of goggles near Fluttershy.

She only looked at them and then closed her eyes, looking away. "I can't! I just… can't!"

"Fluttershy!" Twilight responded, but Fluttershy wasn't budging. To make matters worse, the anemometer wasn't moving either. I looked at the ground and shifted my eyes in thought. I looked at the tornado and realized what I had to do. I removed my hooves from the anemometer and began to slowly walk towards the tornado, struggling with the wind. Twilight noticed me and shouted out to me. "Alex, what are you doing?" I didn't answer but only continued to slowly fight against the wind and walk closer to it. "Alex, are you crazy? You can't—

I looked back and noticed Fluttershy. She could only stare at me in suspense. I narrowed my eyes in determination and raised my hooves with the tornado right behind my back. Finally, I fell backwards inside, being sucked in with it as well. It was unbelievable; I was being thrown around in a circle. I couldn't do anything. I didn't have wings, so I was stuck in the tornado.

"Alex!" I heard Twilight and Fluttershy call out my name.

"Fluttershy!" Twilight exclaimed. "You have to help him!"

There was silence. Come on, Fluttershy… Soon enough, I saw her being sucked in as if she forced herself to come in. She yelped as she tried to take control of flight. Once she did, she spotted me and called out to me. "Alex!" She then began trying to reach towards me. She slowly was catching up to me, but she noticed how other ponies were besting her. She tried to strain herself to go fast, but she released a breath in exhaustion. Afterwards, I noticed her begin to struggle with herself once again as she placed her hooves on her eyes.

"Fluttershy!" I called out to her. "Listen to me! You can do this! Just believe in yourself! Think of me!"

She continued struggling for a moment until she finally strained her eyes and screamed out. "No!" She began racing towards me, faster than any other of the pegasi! She finally caught up to me, allowing me to wrap my hooves around her and hold on to her.

"Fluttershy! You did it!" I praised, grinning in joy for her. I could see the water increasing and finally being lifted towards Cloudsdale! When all the water was lifted towards Cloudsdale, I heard Spike blow the horn, allowing all the pegasi to slow down and land on the ground. However, Fluttershy continued to fly around as she carried me. It wasn't until Rainbow Dash came by and stopped her with a cloud.

"Whoa, girl, take it easy!"

"Whuh, what? Did we do it?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yeah, we did it! You did it!" Rainbow Dash hugged Fluttershy. She lifted her wing and slapped it with Fluttershy's causing them to grunt and giggle afterwards.

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy landed, allowing me to hop off.

"Great job, Fluttershy, that was awesome!" One of the pegasus ponies praised.

"Yeah, we couldn't have done it without you." Her friend joined as Fluttershy rubbed her hoof embarrassingly.

"Nice job, Rainbow Dash. You may not have set a new record, but you showed a lot of guts." Spitfire showed up by Rainbow and congratulated her.

"Thanks, but if you wanna talk guts, then you've gotta give it to my number one flyer, Fluttershy!" She pointed towards her, who waved her hoof shyly and held it near her face bashfully. "Let's hear it for Fluttershy!"

As Fluttershy placed her hooves on her face in fear, the crowd grabbed her and began throwing her up in the air, catching her in victory. "Fluttershy! Fluttershy! Fluttershy can really fly!" They chanted and cheered. They began carrying her as I trotted by the crowd, smiling so proudly for her. She noticed me and shyly waved her hoof. I nodded and continued to follow the crowd.

Once the crowd finally allowed Fluttershy to retire home, we both walked back to her cottage. Inside, she hugged me so tightly. "I can't believe it, Alex! I flew!"

I smiled and patted her. "You sure did, Fluttershy! You were amazing!"

"Thank you, Alex!" She pulled away lightly and faced me, blushing a bit. "But… I couldn't have done it without you…"

"Hm?"

She pulled back her hooves and began walking away. "Well…you purposely dove yourself into that tornado…for me… You knew that I cared about you so much. You knew that I would come in to save you…"

I smiled and rubbed my head a little embarrassingly. "Heh…well…"

She smiled as well and walked over to me and kissed me. "Don't say that it was an accident." She teased.

"Alright, alright." I chuckled a little. "Yes, I did that because I knew you would come in to save me. I trusted you completely."

She giggled lightly and embraced me again. "Well thank you, Alex… thank you for everything… especially for believing in me…"

I smiled playfully and decided to tease her a bit as well. "That's because I love you." I told her as I nuzzled her nose with mine.

She giggled for a moment and then looked at me. She kissed me passionately, even purposely placing more pressure on her lips towards mine. After several seconds of our intimacy, we pulled away, smiling at each other. Fluttershy turned around and began walking happily. "Alex?" She glanced at me.

"Yes, ma'am?"

She grinned. "Do you mind if you take a letter for me?"

I chuckled a bit. "Not at all." I grabbed a piece of paper and pencil, sat on the couch, and readied myself to write.

She nodded and looked out the window. "Dear Princess Celestia, sometimes you can feel like what you have to offer is too little to make a difference, but today, I learned that everypony's contribution is important, no matter how small." She turned back towards me and continued to speak as she walked to me. "If you just keep your head high, do your best, and believe in yourself, anything can happen." After I finished writing that last sentence, she lowered her head towards me and kissed me.

I returned a warm smile. "I guess I should go take this to Twilight."

"Mmk, sweetie. Goodnight."

I nodded and continued to smile. "Goodnight, Fluttershy."

We shared one more kiss before I waved and walked out of her cottage with her letter.

Once again, I stopped by Twilight's house to drop off the letter.

She opened the door after I knocked.

"Oh. Why, hello, Alex."

"Hey, Twilight." I presented the letter to her. "Here's another letter from Fluttershy."

"Great!" She smiled brightly. "I'm sure Princess Celestia will love this."

"Mm-hm." I nodded. "I'm glad Fluttershy is feeling much more confident… Anyways, I should let you get to bed."

She giggled a little. "Okay. Goodnight, Alex."

"Goodnight, Twilight."

Before she closed the door, she looked as if she remembered something. "Oh. Nice move almost sacrificing yourself in order to help Fluttershy."

"Heh, you found out why I did that too?"

She smiled brightly. "Yup. I'm not stupid, you know? I know how much you love Fluttershy."

I smiled as well, a little embarrassingly."Right..."

She nodded and waved.

I waved and began heading towards my home.

I arrived, closing the door behind me. I walked up the stairs, feeling pretty tired, especially after that exhausting ride from the tornado. I chuckled mentally. I then walked to my bed and began feeling cozy. I wrapped the covers around me and smiled as I closed my eyes.

To be honest…sleeping with Fluttershy was comfortable. Hm…I wonder if I'll ever do it again? I mean… I don't mean it in a bad way… It just felt nice having a pony I love next to me… It's something that I've never really experienced before… Huh… I should stop there before my mood dissolves...

Comments

[StevieBond]

There were a lot of feels in this one, you just made this episode twice as amazing.

[jamespotter]

I just realized that the likes and dis-likes add up to 500.